University Landscape Architecture professor Whitey Lueck wants to introduce students to Swedish cinema. He says that many students have the wrong idea when it comes to Swedish film.
“When people think about Swedish film, they think about Ingmar Bergman, these hard-to-understand films or pornography,” Lueck said, adding that the industry is far richer.
The Swedish Film Series, which kicked off last Friday with “Wild Strawberries,” was conceived and organized by Lueck to show students what Swedish cinema has to offer.
“It’s a relatively small country, only 9 million people, yet it has produced a phenomenal number of films over the last 50 years,” Lueck said.
Lueck made a point to highlight all aspects of Swedish cinema in the film series.

“I want to show a variety of films,” he said. “Older ones as well as contemporary films, dramas as well as comedies.”
Lueck said that Swedish films are more frank about topics involving sexuality than American films. There are elements in Swedish films that may make the typical American audience uncomfortable.
“Unlike America, Sweden was not settled by Puritans,” said Lueck. “There’s a big difference in the film industry and life in general.”
On Friday, Lueck will screen “My Life as a Dog,” which was nominated for two Oscars in 1988. “The Emigrants,” nominated for four Oscars, will show on Jan. 27.
Lueck says that one of the most accessible films in the series is 1992’s “House of Angels.” The film portrays the tension between urban and rural people. Fanny, a city dweller, inherits a house out in the
country from her grandfather, whom she has never met. Fanny arrives at her grandfather’s funeral on a motorcycle wearing black leather and spiked heels with her bisexual boyfriend Zac. The pair’s decision to stay in the house, instead of sell it, upsets some of the conservative townsfolk. Eventually, some of the townspeople realize that Fanny and Zac are not as bad as they have been made out to be.
“It’s very touching to see those kinds of transformations in a film,” Lueck said. “It tells us all that maybe we ought to read the book instead of just look at its cover.”

“House of Angels” will screen on Feb. 3.
“Elvira Madigan,” Lueck’s favorite film in the series, will screen on Feb. 10.
“It’s gorgeously filmed,” said Lueck.
“Together” previews on Feb. 17, while “Smiles of a Summer Night” shows on March 3. “Kitchen Stories” will be showcased on March 10 and “Under the Sun” will be shown on March 17.
Lueck stressed that he wants students to have fun, not to sit and worry about understanding the movie.
“Enjoy it, get what you want out of it. We’ll talk about the films afterward but not in a real academic way,” said Lueck. “I’m not a film scholar. I enjoy film. I enjoy Swedish culture, and I want people to have fun.”
All shows start at 7 p.m. in 221 McKenzie Hall at no cost.
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